Bag it -- or Floating Through the World Cup

Son Sean has joined us for a few days, leaving his Portland practice in other hands. It is great having him here. His wisdom and advice are much appreciated.

The attempted surgery was five days ago, just before the 4th of July weekend. My throat felt fine because nothing had been cut or scraped. But I had a reaction to the anesthetic that was most unpleasant: urinary retention.

By midnight the day of the surgery I was a hurtin' pup. So Cathy and her husband Martin hauled me off to the emergency room of St. Joseph's Mercy Hospital, where a catheter was inserted and a bag strapped to my thigh. There was great relief! Friday morning Tim and I visited a urologist who said I should keep the catheter and the bag until Monday. I was able to find some humor in all this. And it made it much easier to watch the World Cup without missing any action caused by bathroom breaks. Sean went to the urologist with me on Monday. I got rid of the bag but had to insert a catheter myself thrice daily until my bladder returned to normal.

Meanwhile, son Tim Green had made an appointment for me with Dr. George Henning, a radiation oncologist at St. Joseph's. We all trooped over to the hospital from Cathy's house on July 6 for a preliminary visit with the oncologist. After much internal debate and family discussion I decided to have the radiation therapy in Ann Arbor rather than in North Carolina. If we have this done while at home in Mill Spring it will mean an hour drive each way for Sylvia. It will also mean she will be without the support of our great kids. The therapy will begin July 24 and will be concluded around Labor Day. That's a long spell to be away from home.

We arranged to rent a furnished apartment in Ann Arbor but Cathy had notified the people at St. Luke's Lutheran Church of our situation. A wonderful couple loaned us the use of their home -- they are out of the country until Labor Day -- so we can avoid the expense of renting the furnished apartment. The leasing agent at the apartment complex graciously agreed to cancel our agreement.